Packaging cigars



Nov. 23, 1943. J. c. DRAPER PACKAGING CIGARS Filed uw. 1e, 1940 3Sheets-Sheet 1 J l a 6 .w mm. M MM mi -i l ...lil www.. mou l Mh 5 y YNm ...hdm im w man@ /5 M u .THT 1l 6 a. f 3 m w N i m INVENroR cfames@.Dmper am ATTQSRN S Nov. 23, 1943. J. c. DRAPER 2,334,999

PACKAGING CIGARS Filed Dec. 16, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Jmes@.Drnper Nov. 23', 1943. J. c. DRAPER 2,334,999

PACKAGING GIGARs Filed Deo. 16.*1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 .l mvENToR Lmesraper,

BY g g' ATTORN S Patented Nov. 23, 1943 PACKAGING CIGARS James C.Draper, Toledo,

Ohio, assignor to Owens-Iliinois Glass Company, a corporation of OhioApplication December 16, 1940, Serial No. 370,307

20 Claims.

My invention relates to a method and apparatus for packing cigars andother articles. More particularly, the invention as herein illustratedis designed and adapted for packing cigars in cylindrical jars. Anobject of my invention is to provide a practical and eil'lclentapparatus by which cigars may be rapidly packed in cylindrical glassjars or other cylindrical containers with the cigars symmetricallyarranged in keeping with conventional requirements.

A1; the present day cigars are being packed commercially in cylindricalglass jars, usually with a standard pack of 50 cigars in a jar. Inaccordance with approved methods, a ring or layer oi cigars is firstplaced in position to line the inner cylindrical wall of the container,and thereafter a group of cigars, sufficient in number to complete thepack, is placed in the space surrounded by said ring. The outer ring ofcigars is preferably arranged with the labels facing outwardly andplaced so that they may be seen through the transparent Wall of thecontainer.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatusfor packing and arranging cigars in keeping with the requirements aboveindicated. Another object of the invention is to provide such anapparatus adapted for packing cigars or the like in a jar or container,the mouth of which is of smaller diameter than the body of the jar. Inpractice, the diameter of said mouth is usually about equal to thediameter of the space delined or surrounded by the cigars forming theouter ring or layer of the pack.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel method ofintroducing and arranging the cigars in the container. More specically,the invention provides a method and apparatus by which the cigars of agroup suilicient in number to form the outer layer or ring of the pack,are arranged spirally in a magazine which is then introduced into thecontainer. The cigars are then by a spiral movement ejected from theinterior of the magazine and guided into an annular space providedbetween the walls of the magazine and the container. Thereafter thecomplementary group of cigars required to complete the pack istransferred as a unit from a second magazine into the container.

Other objects of the invention will appear herenaiter.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate an apparatus foruse in packing cigars in cylindrical jars in accordance with the presentinvention:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a plan View;

Fig. 3 is an elevation on a larger scale of a magazine shown in Figs. land 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the spiral magazine, the sectionbeing taken at the line 4-4 on Fis. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section at the line 5 5 on Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a section at the line 6-6 on Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a section at the line 1-1 on Fig. 2, showing the drum ormagazine for holding the inner group Yof cigars;

Fig. 8 is a section at the line 8 8 on Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail taken at the line 9-9 on Fig. 7.

The apparatus comprises a supporting structure including a floor lll.side Walls Il and l2, a front end wall I3 and rear wall Il. The articlesl5 which are to be packed, here shown as cigars, are placed in a. row ona. table IE, with the labels I'l arranged in line and facing upwardly.The cigars are advanced from the table to a runway or channel includinga stationary section I8 and hinged chutes or sections I9 and 2D throughwhich the cigars are directed to magazines 2| and 22. A predeterminednumber of cigars is placed in each magazine and thereafter transferredto a container 23 (Figs. 4 and 8).

'I'he magazine 22, herein referred to as the spiral magazine, has aiixed mounting and comprises a circular front end plate 24 attached byscrews 25 to the front wall I3. The rear end plate 26 of the magazine issecured by screws 2 to a cylindrical hub 28 extending centrally throughthe magazine, with the forward end portion 29 of the hub extendedthrough and beyond the front end plate and of reduced diameter. Themagazine 22 comprises an outer substantially cylindrical shell 30 formedof sheet metal. Within the shell 30 is a spil-ally arranged sheet metalpiece 3l, the outer end 32 (Fig. 4) of which is attached to the shell30. the inner end being attached at 33 to the hub 28. The shell 30 andthe spiral 3l are anchored inthe end walls of the magazine and are soshaped that they provide a spiral channel or passageway 34. The outerend of the spiral channel opens upwardly at the upper side of themagazine and is arranged to align with the forward end of the chute asshown in Fig. 4.

The channel sections I8, I9 and 20 are formed with vertical side wallsand inturned flanges 35' at the upper margins of the side walls, toprovide guideways for the cigars. The flanges 35' of the chute 29 areextended to meet the end 36 of the shell 39. Beneath this curvedextension is a curved plate 31 which, as shown in Fig. 4, has one edgeadjacent the ficor of the chute 29 and the opposite edge resting on theinner spiral wall 3l The plate 31 thus serves to guide the cigars fromthe chute 20 into the spiral passageway 34. A strip of metal 38,attached to the spiral strip 3l, abuts or aligns with the end surface ofthe section 31 providing a smooth surface for guiding the cigars intothe chute. The section 31 is hinged to swing about its upper edge as apivot so that said plate may serve as a pusher for moving the last cigarof the ring pack outwardly into position as more fully set forthhereinafter. The pivot pin 39 for said pusher (see Figs. 3 and 5)extends through the end plate 24 of the magazine and has attachedthereto a rock arm formed with a finger-piece 40. A coil spring 4I heldunder compression holds the plate 31 in its lowered position (Fig. 4).

The mechanism for transferring the cigars from the spiral magazine andarranging them in a ring within the container 23 will now be described.Such mechanism includes a hand crank 42 with a handle 43, said crankbeing attached to a hub 44 mounted for rotation on the hub shaft 29 andheld thereon by a screw 45. Rods 4B and 41 are secured to the hub 44 andproject outwardly therefrom in diametrically opposite directions, saidrods being in alignment. A frame slidable lengthwise of the rods 46, 41,comprises side bars 4B attached to end blocks 49 and 50 journalled forsliding movement respectively on the rods 41 and 45. The end block hassecured thereto a paddle 5I which extends into the spiral channel 34(see Figs. 4 and 6). The paddle is formed with a reduced end or neckportion 52 which extends through a spiral slot 53 formed in the endplate 24 of the magazine, said slot 53 extending along the spiral chute34. The paddle serves as a means for ejecting the cigars from themagazine as hereinafter described. Rolls 54 are mounted on the end block50 of the slide frame and run on opposite sides of the crank 42 forguiding the slide frame in its reciprocating movements. It will be seenthat when the hand crank 43 is rotated in a counter-clockwise directionfrom the position shown in Fig. 3, the paddle 5I will be moved in aspiral path from the Fig. 4 position and thereby eject the cigars fromthe magazine.

The second container or magazine 2| is in the form of a cylinder and hasa fixed mounting on the front wall I3, being provided at one end thereofwith an annular flange 55 by which the magazine is attached to the wallI3. The opposite end of the cylinder comprises a tapered section 56which is adapted to fit into the neck of the container 23 and serves toguide the cigars into the container and also to compress them slightly,thereby facilitating the placing of the cigars in position Within thecontainer. After a complement of cigars necessary to complete the packhas been placed in the magazine 2| and the jar 23 brought into position(Fig. 8), the cigars are transferred to the jar by means of a diskplunger 51 to which is attached an operating rod 53 extending through anopening in the fro-nt wall I3 and slidable lengthwise in a bearingsleeve 59. A ball handle 60 is provided at the outer end of the rod.

A swinging cradle 5I (Figs. l and 2) provides a support for the jar orcontainer 23 during the packing operation and serves to hold thecontainer in line with the magazines. Said cradle includes end bars 62,the upper surfaces of which are convexly curved to conform to thecurvature of the container. Said end bars are pivotally connected tocylindrical side bars 63 formed on the upper ends of a pair of parallelswinging members or linksl 65, the lower ends of which are pivoted at 66to brackets 61. A stationary support for the container 23 is arrangeddirectly beneath the magazine 22. It comprises a pair of rolls 58mounted on end supports 69.

The section 20 of the horizontal chute is mounted to swing about theaxis of a pivot rod 1li (Fig. '1), permitting the forward end of thechute to be lifted to the dotted line position (Fig. 4), therebypermitting a jar 23 to be moved forward to surround the magazine 22. Theswinging movement of the chute 29 is caused by the neck or shoulder ofthe jar engaging a cam 1I attached to the chute. The intermediatesection IB of the chute is mounted to swing about the axis of the pivotpin 12 (Fig. 7') downwardly from its horizontal position to the dottedline position for directing the cigars into the magazine 2 I. Thesection I9 is normally held up in its horizontal position by a coilspring 13 attached at one end to a r pin 14 projecting from the pivotrod 12, the other end of the spring being anchored to the wall II. Whenthe forward section 20 is swung upward as above described, an arm 15thereon (Figs. 2 and 7) tilts the section I9 downward. The arm 15 isrigidly attached to the section 2li and projects rearwardly therefromover a flange 16 (Fig, 2) on the section I9.

The magazine 2| is formed with a longitudinal slot or opening 11 inposition to permit entrance of the cigars as they are discharged fromthe chute I9. I have found it advisable to close the opening 11 afterthe cigars have been placed in the magazine in order to prevent cigarsfrom being caught therein and interfering with the transfer of thecigars to the Jar. For this purpose a slide plate 18 is* mounted forsliding movement circumferentially of the magazine wall in guideways 19and 89 (Fig. 9). This movement is effected automatically by means of alink HI connected to lugs on the chute I9 and plate 19 respectively.When the chute I9 is moved downward the plate 18 is also carrieddownward and thereby uncovers the opening 11.

Operation The operation may be described as follows:

The predetermined number of cigars required to form the outer ring ofthe pack is moved forward from the table I6 through the chutes IB'. I9and 2|] and into the spiral magazine, thereby filling the latter asshown, in Fig. 4. The paddle 5I provides a stop at the inner end of thespiral channel. cradle 6I and while the latter is in line with thesupport` BB, 69 (Fig. 2), the jar is moved forward endwise so that theVmagazine 22 is positioned within the jar. The said movement of the jarat the same time cams the chute llrupward out of the way. The operatornow rotates the crank 42 in a counter-clockwise direction and thereby Anempty jar 23 is placed on the causes the paddle to move spirally outwardalong the channel 34 and thereby push the cigars out of the magazineinto the annular space between the outer wall of the magazine and thecylindrical wall of the container. When the crank has reached the limitof its rotative movement, which may be determined by the paddle strikingthe end of its spiral groove 53, all of the cigars have been placedsubstantially in position except the last one which is now inenga-gement with the hinged section 31. The operator now depresses thefinger-piece 40 (Fig. 3) which swings the section 31 outwardly about itspivot and thereby forces the last cigar into position within the ring.This last cigar While thus being wedged into position between theadjoining cigars, applies a moderate lateral pressure which isdistributed to the entire ring of cigars and holds them in position. Itwill be noted that the labels l1 will all face outwardly so thatthey arereadily seen through the glass wall of the container.

The jar is now withdrawn endwise from the magazine 22 back onto thecradle 6| and the latter is then swung to the left (Fig. l) to bring thejar into line with the second magazine 2l. The jar is then moved forwarda short distance so that the tapered end 5E of the magazine (Fig. 8) ispositioned within the neck of the jar. The magazine 2| may be filledeither before or after the spiral magazine. A predetermined number ofcigars is moved through the chute I9 into the magazine 2|, said numberbeing the quota required to complete the pack. When the jar 23 with theouter ring of cigars packed therein has been brought into register Withthe magazine 2i, as above described, the operator by means of the handle6D moves the plunger 51 forward, thereby forcing the group of cigarsfrom the magazine into the jar, thus completing the pack.

Modications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of packing articles in a container which comprisesintroducing a spirally arranged group of the articles into the containerand then moving said articles spirally into position to form a ring ofthe articles extendmg along the inner wall of the container, andthereafter introducing additional articles into the container tocomplete the pack.

2. The method of packing a cylindrical container which comprisesarranging a predetermined number of the articles in a spiral group,introducing said group as a unit into the container, moving said groupspirally into position to form a ring of the articles extending alongthe wall of the container, and thereafter introducing an additionalnumber of articles to fill the container and complete the pack.

3. The method of packing cigars or articles of similar shape into acylindrical container, which method comprises introducing into thecontainer a group of the articles consisting of a predetermined numberof the articles suilicient to form a ring extending along the innercylindrical wall of the container, with said group positioned to leavean empty annular space between said wall and the group of articleswithin the container, and advancing the articles in series in apredetermined path by which the articles are moved into position to formsaid ring within said annular space.

4. The method of packing cigars in a cylindrical container whichcomprises arranging a predetermined number of the cigars in a row,thereafter introducing said row of articles bodily as a unit into aposition within the container to form an empty space between the innerwall of the container and the group of articles, then moving thearticles by pressure applied at the end of said row and transmitted toall of the articles, and directing the articles in a predetermined pathduring such movement into position to form a ring lining the innercylindrical wall of the container.

5. Packing apparatus comprising a magazine formed with a spiralpassageway therein, and means for ejecting from the magazine a row ofarticles spirally arranged within said passageway, said ejecting meanscomprising a paddle extending within said spiral passageway adjacent theinner end of said passageway in position to engage behind the innermostarticle of said row, and means to effect a relative movement of thepaddle and magazine by which the paddle is advanced in a spiral pathextending along the said spiral passageway and thereby operatespositively to force the articles in a spiral pathway out of themagazine.

6. Packing apparatus comprising a magazine having an approximatelycylindrical outer shell and an inner spiral wall forming with said shella spiral channel, said shell having spaced ends providing an openinginto said channel, and a section hinged at one end to swing about apivot adjacent one end of the shell from a position in which it extendsacross and Closes said opening to a position in which its free endengages the spiral wall and the hinged section thereby provides astationary guiding surface for guiding articles through said opening.

7. Packing apparatus comprising magazines, a sectional chute throughwhich articles are conveyed to the magazines, said chute comprisingsections individual to the magazines, means for moving said sectionsalternatively into operative positions, one of said magazines having anopening through which articles are transmitted from the chute into themagazine, a gate mounted for movement into and out of position to closesaid opening, and connecting means between said gate and thecorresponding chute section for moving the gate to and from the positionfor closing said opening as said chute section is moved from and to itsoperative position.

8. Packing apparatus comprising in combination a magazine formed with aninterior channel to receive articles, said magazine adapted to bepositioned within a container, a chute extending to the magazine fordirecting articles into said channel, and a cam carried by the chute inposition to be engaged by the container when the latter is moved intoposition to receive the magazine and thereby cause the chute to becammed away from the magazine and thus permit the latter to enter thecontainer.

9. Packing apparatus comprising a magazine formed with a spiral channelto receive articles and position them in a spiral row within themagazine, a paddle projecting into said channel, spiral guiding meansfor guiding said paddle in a spiral path through said channel, and meansfor moving the paddle along said path.

10. Packing apparatus comprising a magazine formed with a spiral channelto receive articles and position them in a spiral row within themagazine, a paddle projecting into said channel, and means for movingand guiding said paddle in a spiral path through said channel, saidmeans comprising a supporting frame for the paddle mounted toreciprocate transversely of the axis of said spiral, a crank rotatableabout said axis, and means providing a driving connection between thecrank and said reciprocating frame whereby rotation of the crank causesthe paddle to be advanced spirally along said channel.

1l. Packing apparatus comprising in combination magazines, a supportingstructure on which the magazines are mounted in laterally spacedrelation, a cradle for holding a container, said cradle being movablefrom a position in which a container thereon is held in register withone magazine to a position in which it is held in register with theother magazine, and a pair of parallel links on which the cradle ismounted, said links being mounted to swing the cradle and a containersupported thereon from a position of registry with one magazine to aposition of registry with the other.

12. Packing apparatus comprising an approximately cylindrical magazine,means by whichv a spiral channel is formed in the magazine, and meansfor moving a group of articles spirally out of the said channel into anannular space provided between the outer wall of the magazine and thewall of a cylindrical container in which the magazine is introduced,thereby arranging the articles in a ring, said magazine comprising asection positioned and arranged to form an eX- tension of the inner wallof the channel and engage the last article moving out of the channel,said section being hinged at one end to swing outwardly across thechannel and thereby move said last article radially outward intoposition i,

to complete the ring.

13. Packing apparatus comprising in combination a supporting structure,magazines mounted thereon, a chute comprising aligned sections, one ofsaid sections being arranged to register with one said magazine whilethe chute sections are in line, means for swinging said last mentionedsection away from the magazine to permit a container to be interposedbetween the magazine and said chute, and means actuated by said lastmentioned chute section when swung away from its magazine, to moveanother section of the chute into position to direct articles into thesecond magazine.

14. The method of packing' articles in a cylindrical container whichcomprises introducing into the container a group of articles andpositioning the group centrally Within the container, with an emptyannular space between the group and the cylindrical wall of thecontainer, and

then moving the articles in a predetermined path into position to forman annular group Within said space.

l5. The method of packing articles in a cylindrical container whichcomprises introducing into the container a group of articles andpositioning the group centrally Within the container,

with an empty annular space between the group and the cylindrical wallof the container, moving the articles in a predetermined path intoposition to fo'rm an annular group within said space, and thereafterintroducing simultaneously a sufficient number of articles into thecontainer to complete the pack.

16. The method of packing articles in a cylindrical container whichcomprises introducing into the container a group of articles andpositioning the group centrally within the container, with an emptyannular space between the group and the cylindrical wall of thecontainer, moving the articles in a predetermined path into position toform an annular group Within said space, thereafter bringing to themouth of the container a second group of articles of the required numberto complete the pack, and moving said second group bodily as a unit intothe container.

17. The method of packing cigars or similar articles within a containerwhich comprises positioning and arranging a predetermined number of thearticles in a, spiral row Within the container, with an annular spacebetween the walls of the container and the said articles, and moving thearticles into said annular space by a simultaneous spiral movement ofall of the articles.

18. The method of packing cigars or similar articles within a containerwhich comprise-s positioning and arranging a predetermined number of thearticles in a spiral row Within the container, with an annular spacebetween the walls of the container and the said articles, moving thearticles into said annular space by a simultaneous spiral movement ofall of the articles, and moving the last article of the group intoposition by forcing it radially outward and thereby compacting thearticles in the ring.

19. The method of packing articles in a cylindrical container whichcomprises introducing into the container a group of articles andpositioning the group centrally within the container, with an emptyannular space between the group and the cylindrical wall of thecontainer, and then moving the articles in a spiral path from saidvgroup into said annular space in succession and along said space intoposition to form an annular` group therein.

20. The method of packing articles in a cylindrical container whichcomprises introducing into the container a group of articles andpositioning the group centrally within the container, with an emptyannular space between the group and the cylindrical wall of thecontainer, moving the articles singly and in succession into saidannular space at a. predetermined point, `and advancing the articlesfrom said point in a predetermined path extending along said annularspace and thereby forming an annular group of the articles lining theinner wall of the container.

JAMES C. DRAPER.

